Back catalogue: All genres

Review: .Oh wow. Brussels-based Maloca label boss Le Motel has created something really beautiful here. Utilising musique concrete principles, and a renowned ear for pianos and contemporary classical, experimental electronica, ambient and the like, Odd Numbers / S? L? is an odyssey in all senses of the word. Made from time on roads less traveled and the people and places encountered en route, it also feels like an aural adventure in its own right. Catalysed by time spent in Vietnam, arriving into the sprawling colonial districts of Hanoi, then venturing out to Hmong communities in mountainous areas close to the Chinese border, those he met and engaged with have been directly involved in the final album here - making this a vast exercise in collaboration. Noisy kitchens, quiet fields, personal conversations, the laughter of a village square on a weekend morning, meet beats, bass, heavy future cuts, serenity, and bliss. 1000% yes.

Review: Annea Lockwood is a pioneering New Zealand-born experimental composer who returns to Black Truffle with her third release for the label. Although she is now the handsome age of 85, Lockwood continues to explore new sound sources and collaborate with a range of performers and 'On Fractured Ground' features recordings made with Pedro Rebelo and Georgios Varoutsos while using Belfast's "peace lines" as resonant instruments that deeply evoke the dark history of the Troubles. 'Skin Resonance' is a collaboration with Vanessa Tomlinson that explores the bass drum's sonic properties while infusing them with elemental textures. Both pieces showcase Lockwood's reflective, meditative approach and make for another significant entry into her creative story.

Review: For over 20 years, Clay Emerson and Ian Pullman aka Loess have quietly built a reputation for crafting intricate, deeply atmospheric electronica and Battens, their fifth album on Califonrian label n5MD, sees them refining their signature aestheticistill grayscale and shadowy, but now imbued with a subtle warmth. The Opener 'Strake' features layered static hums and a slow, hypnotic beat that cycles like waves against a submerged structure. 'Halyard' introduces brittle textures and crisp rhythms, evoking wind-swept landscapes. 'Crowhurst' builds tension with submerged chords and fractured percussion. The haunting 'Koepcke' carries a sense of disorientation and search for stability, while 'Endoctamb' recalls Chain Reaction's most introspective moments, yet with a looser, more organic quality. Closing with 'Rime', Battens embraces silence, with glacial melodies fading into the ether. Throughout, the duo masterfully manipulates sound and space, allowing moments of stillness to breathe between pulsing rhythms and submerged harmonies. There's an undeniable human element in how these tracks moveilike the slow, inevitable shift of nature itself. More than just an exercise in sound design, Battens is a transportive experience, cold yet comforting, stark yet alive recording.